I mpact Repor t
Above: Former African Development Bank President and CGD Distinguished Visiting Fellow Donald Kaberuka Below: Former President of Malawi and former CGD Distinguished Visiting Fellow Joyce Banda
Right: CGD Board Chair and former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence SummersBottom right: Former World Bank President Jim Kim
Left: IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde
“ [CGD is an] incredible think tank … which is more than just think —which is also stimulate, which is also bring together, which is also about action.” Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
We, the Center for Global Development, are
a group of nonpartisan researchers and policy
analysts with a passion for finding better ways
to reduce global poverty and improve lives in
developing countries. We use independent,
evidence-based research to devise practical policy
solutions to pressing development problems.
There has been more progress in improving
the human condition over the past 50 years than
ever before. Billions of people are living longer,
better, and healthier lives. This is mainly due to
their own efforts and the actions of developing
country governments, business, and civil society,
but also the support provided by the rest of
the world—rich countries, a rules-based and
open global economy, multilateral institutions
promoting development in different ways,
researchers and advocates searching for better
ways to improve lives.
Still, the challenges ahead are daunting.
Extreme poverty impacts millions, children
die every year from curable disease and many
more cannot realize their full potential because
they lack access to education, nutrition, or
physical security. Problems like climate change
and pandemics need to be dealt with through
multilateral rules and institutions at a time
when politics in many countries is pushing
for a retreat behind national borders. New
technology can be an accelerator for change but
also a source of disruption and social upheaval.
The world has signed up to a set of
development goals for 2030 and to moving to
a low-carbon economy that will preserve our
planet. Reaching these objectives requires
a commitment to smart policies that maximize
the returns on scarce resources and draw on
evidence to amplify impact.
In CGD’s 17-year history, we have been
heartened when our work has led to measurable
policy impacts—some examples are presented
in these pages. But we have also learned that the
link between good research and policy impact is
sometimes long and difficult, and perseverance
or creative networking can be as crucial as the
initial idea itself.
We also recognize that impact can take many
forms—shaping the academic consensus on
the economics of migration is very different
from promoting the creation of a full-service
development finance corporation, but both
are important. Sometimes, realizing the full
potential of a good idea means letting it flower
elsewhere. We take pride in our role as an
incubator of initiatives that take root at CGD
and then flourish beyond.
We are funded by a diverse group of
foundations, corporations, governments,
and individuals who care about development
and value rigorous and independent research,
and we have an active and committed Board that
empowers us and holds us accountable. We do
not accept funds that could constrain our ability
to follow the evidence and call it like it is. And
it’s because of this independence that we are
so successful at changing global development
policy for the better. We look forward to
engaging with you.
Masood Ahmed President
Contents 02Our Work04Our Impact 06Our Funding 07In Numbers 08Our People
Today’s realities present opportunities to influence a world at the crossroads
Letter from the President
01Welcome
02 Impact Report
Ou rW o rk
The Center for Global Development works to reduce global poverty and improve lives through
innovative economic research that drives better policy and practice by the world’s top decision makers.
We generate new ideas, actionable policy proposals, and independent research, and spark
critical global development conversations.
We focus on the intersection of developing countries and the governments, institutions, and corporations
that can help them deliver the greatest progress.
03Our Work
Global HealthWith more countries rising out of
poverty, global health progress faces
new challenges. Our research helps
policymakers build sustainable
health systems that respond to
these shifting realities, deliver value
for money, and address treatment
inequalities between developed
and developing countries.
Migration, Displacement, and Humanitarian AssistanceWhether pursuing opportunity
or fleeing to safety, migrants and
refugees can fuel economic growth
in the countries they live in and
leave behind. Today’s displacement
crisis calls for more than short-term
humanitarian aid: it requires
far-sighted development
solutions. CGD brings evidence to
these contentious issues and devises
policy solutions so migrants, refugees,
and their hosts can all thrive.
Sustainable Development FinanceTo meet the Sustainable Development
Goals, development finance must
increase from billions to trillions.
Low-income countries face special
challenges in financing their
development needs. Our work focuses
on unlocking more finance more
effectively from existing and emerging
sources, and on allocating those funds
to maximize development impact.
EducationWorldwide, millions of children
are at risk of never learning how
to read or do basic arithmetic. This
limits opportunities for individuals,
communities, and nations. We are
tackling the global learning crisis
with policy-relevant research that
identifies the biggest obstacles
to delivering high-quality basic
education in low- and middle-income
countries and develops the most
promising reform ideas.
Governments and Development PolicyDevelopment is about more than aid,
and the policies of countries around
the world wield enormous influence
on global progress. With constructive
commentary and nonpartisan,
evidence-based proposals, CGD’s
Washington team seeks to strengthen
US foreign assistance tools, while
CGD’s Europe team aims to help
the UK craft development-friendly
policies post-Brexit and to improve
EU development policy and practice.
Technology and DevelopmentTechnology is a driver for
development, but policy choices
determine who benefits. Will
automation bring new jobs or
no jobs? How should we manage
growth in biometric ID and
governance? How can digital
payments be safely scaled up?
Focusing on innovation, growth,
and inequality, our research helps
policymakers keep pace with
a changing world.
Our scholars conduct rigorous, impartial analysis, informed by evidence and experts from around the world.
Women’s economic empowerment,
financial inclusion, and better data
are other areas where we work to
influence development progress.
04 Impact Report
I m p a c tOur
“ CGD analyzes the right trends, forces people to think out of the box, and critically provides some pathways or platforms for us and for governments, which is badly needed.” Paul Polman, Former CEO, Unilever
Increasing the Number of Women PeacekeepersIn 2015, women made up just
4 percent of UN peacekeepers. When
CGD analysis showed that more
women in peacekeeping operations
is associated with more sustainable
peace and dramatically lower rates of
sexual misconduct by peacekeepers,
we proposed a multilateral trust fund
to offer supplementary payments
to troop-contributing countries for
each woman peacekeeper provided.
In 2017, Canada responded with the
Elsie Initiative, providing training,
support, and financial incentives to
increase the proportion of women
UN peacekeepers.
Maximizing the Benefits of MigrationWith Africa’s labor force projected
to grow by 800 million by 2050,
and Europe’s continuing to shrink,
migration pressures will intensify.
That’s why we developed the Global
Skill Partnership (GSP)—a proposal to
regulate skilled migration in a way that
benefits origin and destination
countries, and migrants. In a GSP,
a destination country provides training
for potential migrants before they
migrate—at a cost savings—ensuring
they are equipped to fill labor gaps in
the destination. Non-migrants in the
origin country also receive training,
increasing the country’s human
capital. The GSP was the only specific
policy proposal included in the Global
Compact on Migration and is now
being put into practice by Germany
and Turkey.
ID for DevelopmentWithout formal identification,
people can’t exercise their
rights or access services, yet some
1.1 billion people in developing
countries still lack proof of identity.
CGD was among the first to take
an integrated look at the frontier
area of biometrics and development.
We helped produce a set of
principles for digital identification
that UN entities, multilateral
development banks, and major
foundations have now adopted.
Modernizing US Development FinancingCGD has long argued that the US
needs a full-service, self-sustaining
agency to promote market solutions
to reducing poverty. Starting in 2011,
we built a practical case for a new
US development finance institution
that would boost development,
expand US commercial opportunities,
and promote efficiency. Our
persistence paid off in 2018 when
the Better Utilization of Investments
Leading to Development (BUILD)
Act became law, establishing the US
International Development Finance
Corporation and making this CGD
proposal a reality.
Changing the Conversation on China’s Development DebtThrough its Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI), China plans to deliver
trillions in infrastructure financing
to countries in Asia, Europe,
and Africa. In 2018, CGD research
revealed that without improved
standards for debt management,
the BRI could leave eight
countries at serious risk of debt
distress. CGD identified actions
to minimize these risks—which
have since been advocated by the
IMF. China’s senior officials have
also responded to the report
and signaled they are working
to address the BRI’s debt issues.
To date, CGD’s BRI report has
received over 15,000 online views
and been cited in more than
500 news stories, including in
the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg,
and Financial Times.
Incubating New InitiativesDeveloping countries chronically
lack electric power, leading them
to fall farther behind in the global
economy. CGD’s years of work
on energy led to the 2019 launch
of the Energy for Growth Hub,
a network connecting policymakers
with research and insights for
building high-energy systems.
The hub is just one of several
successful initiatives incubated
at CGD. The Global Innovation
Fund, a nonprofit that invests in
developing, testing, and scaling
innovations to improve lives
in developing countries, started
at CGD, as did Global Forest Watch,
a real-time deforestation alert
system, and iDSI, an institution
dedicated to better-informed
healthcare decisions.
05Our Impact
06 Impact Report
Our Funding
Our Funders*
85+10+5+w Research and
Programs 85%
Management and
Administration 10%
Fundraising 5%
2018 ExpenditureTotal $16,900,165
68+9+8+8+7+wRevenue (funds available for 2018)Total $18,293,420
Foundations 68%
Governments
(non-US) 9%
Corporations/Corp.
Foundations 8%
Individuals/Family
Foundations 8%
Nonprofits/
NGOs/Other 7%
Corporate and Corporate Foundations • C&A Foundation• Chevron • ExxonMobil Foundation • Goldman, Sachs & Co.• Google Foundation • Johnson & Johnson • Margaret A. Cargill
Philanthropies • Mastercard Foundation • McKinsey & Company • Merck and Co., Inc. • Nestle S.A. • NIKE Foundation • PepsiCo • Sanofi Pasteur • UBS AG• UBS Optimus Foundation via
Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)
Foundations • Bernard and Anne Spitzer
Charitable Trust • Better World Fund • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation• Carnegie Corporation
of New York• Connect U.S. Fund • Conrad N. Hilton Foundation • David and Lucile Packard
Foundation • Echidna Giving • Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation • Ford Foundation • Foundation to Promote
Open Society • Good Ventures • Humanity United Fund • Joffe Charitable Trust • John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation• McCall MacBain Foundation• Nathan Cummings Foundation• Omidyar Network • Open Philanthropy Project • Rockefeller Foundation • Seattle International Foundation• Tent Partnership for Refugees • Tinker Foundation • United Nations Foundation • Wallace Genetic Foundation • Wellcome Trust • Wellspring Philanthropic Fund• William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation• Anonymous
Governments • African Development
Bank • Agence Française
de Développement• Andean Development
Corporation – Development Bank of Latin America
• Asian Development Bank
• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-Operation and Development
• Global Affairs Canada • International Development
Research Centre • Luxembourg Ministry
of Foreign Affairs • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Denmark• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Finland• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Netherlands• Norwegian Agency for
Development Cooperation• Norwegian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs • Swedish International
Development Agency • Swedish Ministry
for Foreign Affairs • UK Department for
International Development
Family Foundations and Individuals • Lakeshore Foundation • Nancy Birdsall• Thomas Gibian• Bruns Grayson• Jim Harmon
• Susan Levine• Jennifer Oppenheimer• Dina Powell• Rachel Pritzker• Sheryl Sandberg• Edward W. Scott Jr.• Smita Singh• Belinda Stronach• Lawrence Summers• Maureen White• Anonymous
Nonprofits • Imperial College London • Institute of Labor Economics • International Growth Centre • International Initiative for
Impact Evaluation (3ie) • Luminate Group • Oxford Policy
Management Ltd • Rockefeller Philanthropy
Advisors • The Nature Conservancy • UK Research & Innovation
(UKRI) Collective Fund via University of York
* Includes gifts and awards totaling $100,000 or more, 2001–2018. A full list of supporters is available at www.cgdev.org/give
106publications
12%increase in average
number of downloads per podcast
increase in media mentions
1.4munique website visits
195CGD-hosted
events
2018 in Numbers
92 , 000@CGDev followers
20%28 ,000
weekly newsletter subscribers
@
07Funding & In Numbers
08 Impact Report
Board of DirectorsLawrence H. Summers (Chair)
Edward Scott (Chair Emeritus)
Masood Ahmed
Timothy D. Adams
Q. Munir Alam
Caroline Atkinson
Afsaneh Beschloss
Tony Fratto
Thomas Gibian
David F. Gordon
Brad Horwitz
Stephen T. Isaacs
Donald Kaberuka
John Lipsky
Robert McCarthy
Edward E. McNally
Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Bobby J. Pittman
Smita Singh
Toni G. Verstandig
Maureen White
LeadershipMasood Ahmed
President
Amanda Glassman
Chief Operating Officer, Senior
Fellow, and Board Secretary
Kevin Conry
V ice President of Development
Ellen Mackenzie
Chief Financial Officer, Vice President
of Administration, and Treasurer
Reetan Patel
Chief Finance, Planning, and
Operations Officer, CGD Europe
ExpertsNancy Birdsall
Mayra Buvinic
Mauricio Cárdenas*
Kalipso Chalkidou
Michael Clemens
Erin Collinson
David Evans
Alex Ezeh*
Mikaela Gavas
Alan Gelb
Sanjeev Gupta
Susannah Hares
Cindy Huang
Pamela Jakiela
Donald Kaberuka*
Anita Käppeli
Charles Kenny
Jeremy Konyndyk
Carleigh Krubiner
Nancy Lee
Alexis Le Nestour
Janeen Madan Keller
Ian Mitchell
Scott Morris
Anit Mukherjee
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala*
Mead Over
Michael Pisa
Mark Plant
Vijaya Ramachandran
Liliana Rojas-Suarez
Sarah Rose
Jack Rossiter
Justin Sandefur
William Savedoff
Rachel Silverman
*Distinguished Visiting Fellow
Our People
Above: CGD Europe roundtable on innovations for results in public financeBelow: Former Finance Minister of Nigeria and CGD Distinguished Visiting Fellow Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with CGD President Masood Ahmed and Brookings Institution Global Economy and Development Program Director Homi Kharas Right: CGD Chief Operating Officer and Senior Fellow
Amanda Glassman with NY Times columnist Nicholas KristofBelow right: CGD Senior Fellow Michael Clemens with Louise Arbour, UN Special Representative for International Migration; David McKenzie, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank; and the Honorable Ratna Omidvar, Senate of Canada and Co-Chair, World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Migration
“ If there’s another global debt distress like we all faced a decade ago, what should we do? We’ll be looking to CGD for your research and analysis to guide us.” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President, Republic of Liberia
Right: Senior Fellow Liliana Rojas-Suarez with Mauricio Cárdenas, CGD Distinguished Visiting Fellow and former Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Colombia; Luis Andres Caputo, Minister of Finance, Argentina; Lea Giménez Duarte, Minister of Finance, Paraguay; José Antonio González Anaya, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, México; and Felipe Larraín Bascuñán, Minister of Finance, Chile
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